PEORIA, Ariz.  A team that says its future rests with the farm system is showing signs of finally having some talent depth in the organization.

"Overall, the talent in the system is better than it was a couple of years ago," Padres assistant general manager Jason McLeod said Sunday.

"We have a few players who haven't panned out yet, but overall the progress has been good."

"More than anything we've done directly in our one draft, some of the recent college players the Padres have drafted are advancing along with younger players and the Latin players Randy Smith has brought into the organization.

"Randy has done stellar work. And the trade for Adrian Gonzalez has positively influenced the talent we have in the system.

"I'm excited about our prospects."

The Padres have had only one draft since Jed Hoyer replaced Kevin Towers as the general manager in October of 2009 and brought in McLeod to overhaul the amateur scouting and minor league development departments.

And they failed to sign their first-round pick, pitcher Karsten Whitson, from the 2010 draft.

But McLeod thinks the Padres are going to have more prospects are all four levels of their full-season teams.

"We're going to be much better at Triple-A (Tucson)," said McLeod. "And I'm real excited about see the teams at the three other levels. We have players advancing from that 100-win team at (low Single-A) Fort Wayne in 2009.

After having trouble filling out rosters with players at some levels recently, the Padres appear to have a backlog of players at some positions this season.

One victim of the upgrades could be 6-foot-5 first baseman Matt Clark, who hit 28 homers with 97 RBI at Double-A San Antonio last season.

The 24-year-old Clark deserves a promotion to Triple-A. But the Padres acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo in the Gonzalez trade and will also have Kyle Blanks returning from elbow reconstruction surgery sometime this summer.

Clark could make the Tucson roster as a designated hitter-first baseman outfielder. But he could also return to San Antonio, which would block the progress of two other first basemen -- Cody Decker (.270, 28 homers, 90 RBI with Single-A Lake Elsinore last season) and Nate Freiman (.294-14-84 at low Single-A Fort Wayne).

And there's the question of Rancho Bernardo High grad Allan Dykstra, a first baseman who the Padres made their first-round pick (23rd overall) in 2008 despite a history of hip problems. In two-plus seasons at Single-A, Dykstra has hit .235 with 28 homers and 140 RBI against 232 strikeouts in .821 at-bats (although he has a .388 on-base percentage).

Given their depth at first, might the Padres be nearing a final decision on Dykstra?

Another question mark is center fielder Donavan Tate, who has been injured the majority of the time since he was the third overall pick in the 2009 draft. The Padres are hoping the 20-year-old will formally get his career rolling this season at Fort Wayne.

The strength of the system appears to be starting pitching, first and third bases and center field.